New OSHA Flood-Safety Guidance What It Means for Your Dealership BY LAUREN BAILEY Vice President of State Legal & Regulatory Affairs, ComplyAuto The past few weeks have provided an eye-opening reminder of how fast floodwater moves. In August, severe storms swept across the Midwest and Ohio Valley, bringing flash flooding to communities across the region, barely a month after catastrophic flooding tore through Texas Hill Country along the Guadalupe River and destroyed homes and businesses. For dealerships in the path of severe storms, the risk does not end when the rain stops; it often peaks during cleanup. OSHA has released a set of three flood-safety infographics for outdoor workers, and the guidance lands squarely on how dealerships operate when storms hit. Across the three pieces, the agency covers the health hazards hidden in floodwater (pathogens, fuel and chemicals, submerged debris, displaced snakes and insects, and downed power lines, all of which call for PPE and safety perimeters); the way flood risk shifts with terrain (coastlines facing surge, hillsides prone to mudslides and paved flash-flood zones where water rises fast); and the danger of moving vehicles through floodwater under the banner “Turn Around, Don’t Drown.” For a store with inventory parked outside and staff moving cars as conditions worsen, the throughline is simple: Floodwater conceals dangers you cannot see, and no vehicle is worth putting an employee into moving water. WHERE DEALERS GET HURT: THE CLEANUP Cleanup is the longest and most dangerous phase of a flood, and it is where OSHA’s guidance gets most useful for dealers. Its cleanup fact sheet (Fact Sheet 3276) speaks directly to what staff face over the days they spend in flooded service bays, parts rooms and showrooms hauling out water-logged inventory, which is exactly where injuries happen. For dealerships in the path of severe storms, the risk does not end when the rain stops; it often peaks during cleanup. 29 THE GENERATOR
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